


seep

by tanyart



Category: Integrate - Thea Hayworth
Genre: M/M, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 11:30:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13053123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tanyart/pseuds/tanyart
Summary: It doesn't start with tea, but there's something about it that pulls Sezin forward.





	seep

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jain/gifts).



The second time Gavin brings in tea for him, Sezin has a feeling it’s going to be routine. He admits it’s a smart move, especially with their new partnership still treading into uncharted territory and only a week in. It gives a hint of Gavin’s demeanor; friendly, casual, good-humored. Not too fussed about keeping a tally between them.

He tells Sezin, “Not a problem. There’s a cafe on the way from my place.”

Nothing has quite clicked between them yet, though they work well enough together—but it’s mostly a dutiful kind of willingness that comes with the job. Maybe this can be a start to filling in the gaps, make it something more than an assigned partnership, Sezin hopes.

“You can buy me coffee once 3 AM hits,” Gavin adds with a cheeky grin.

He holds out the drink carrier for Sezin despite the obvious wrinkle to his nose. It’s mostly an exaggerated expression to make Sezin huff, and Sezin _does_ huff, but it tugs the beginnings of a smile from him. The memory of Gavin’s face twisting when he had first tried the tea finishes the job; Sezin ends up grinning, and Gavin doesn’t shy away from the display of sharp teeth. Sezin takes the tea from the drink carrier, aware of how a couple of days ago Gavin would have just handed him the drink itself, not touching, but still a little too close for comfort.

“Thanks,” Sezin says, taking a sip. It’s perfect. Just the way he orders it, more bitter than how the drink is usually made, which is something interesting to note. It’s something he hadn’t thought Gavin would pick up on. “Figured out my weakness already, huh?”

“Hah!” Gavin says, but something in his eyes brighten. He sits at his desk, looking pleased as he logs into his computer, like he’s found a clue to a particularly stubborn case.

Sezin doesn’t think he’s _that_ hard to figure out, but Sezin knows he lacks that kind of openness, for better or for worse.

“So,” Gavin begins, pulling up the files on their latest mystery, “I think I might have an idea about where we can find our missing guy.”

“Go for it,” Sezin says, and lets Gavin lead the rest of their night.

 

* * *

 

It doesn’t stop at Sezin’s favorite tea. Throughout the next month Sezin finds himself taken aback by just how much Gavin notices the smallest things about him, like whether or not Sezin is in the mood to drive, or if he needs a quiet moment to think, or if a certain human-universal slang is about to fly clear over his head. Gavin seems to catch Sezin’s most off-guarded moments, but he does it in a way that never makes Sezin feel lacking. He adjusts, shifts his habits just so, and it’s like Sezin can think a little clearer without fully realizing it.

It’s almost disconcerting, but it only makes Sezin’s nights go a little easier when their nights are often difficult by default. A smile in the right moment or a polite interjection in the middle of a frustrating interrogation goes a long way, and Gavin seems to do it effortlessly. Sezin shouldn’t be so surprised, really. He _knows_ Gavin is observant, sharp mind geared towards pulling and picking apart details. He’s seen it in action before, on crime scenes and during interviews, and even moreso when they are alone together, just the two of them, bouncing theories back and forth.

Of course, being perceptive is more or less a necessity for anyone in their line of work. Sezin just hadn’t thought about the possibility of being on the receiving end of Gavin’s careful attention.

The thought doesn’t really hit home until Gavin takes one of their newer Earth-native coworkers by the arm and pulls them away before Sezin even thinks to take a cautionary step back.

“Hey now,” Gavin says, in a tone that manages to be both friendly and firm all at once. He turns that grasp on the arm into a firm handshake that had been meant for Sezin, a harmless smile flashing to ease the awkwardness. “How ‘bout I take that instead? Nice to meet you, I’m Gavin.”

It takes a moment to register what Gavin had done, touching the Earth-native like that—just bare arms, a shirt with short sleeves—then Sezin remembers, ‘ _oh right, they can do that_ ’, and takes the cue to accept the incoming apologies from the Earth-native.

Again, it’s becoming routine—perhaps not always as awkward as that—but the way Gavin can handle the obliviousness of hirsa habits while Sezin adjusts to the eccentricities of human culture. And then, one day, Sezin settles in on the idea that he can worry less around Gavin. Just like that.

“Thanks,” Sezin says, after everything’s been said and done and they’re back in the car to drive to their latest crime scene.

Gavin throws him a rueful look, but his smile is relieved. “No problem. I’m sure Shan will adjust quick. He’ll have to.”

“I’m used to it. No harm done.”

Gavin sits back, hand on the steering wheel. He has his eyes focus on the road ahead of them, but the automated track does most of the navigating. His silence is contemplative, fingers drumming against the controls. The sleeve of his dress shirt rides up to his wrist, and Sezin’s eyes lands right at that spot, unbidden and throwing him off kilter for a second. Gavin’s fingers tap over the controls again, and Sezin is suddenly reminded of the way Gavin had taken Shan’s arm, so easy and sure.

Sezin blinks, realizing how he is staring, and shifts his gaze back towards the window.

_No harm done_ , he reassures himself.

 

* * *

 

It takes a couple of weeks to really nail it down, but Sezin realizes that Gavin is a tactile person, even by human standards. To most hirsa all of it would seem wildly flirtatious, but Sezin can see the way Gavin slings an arm around his human friends, reach out to steady an elbow or give the occasional friendly nudge. Sezin knows humans rely on touching for communication just as much as hirsa rely on scenting, but the fact seems to amplify with Gavin around.

They are standing near a flashing ambulance with Gavin standing at the back, talking quietly with a woman whose eyes keep darting from side to side. He lays a hand over the upper part of her back, pressure a reassuring comfort, before taking a blanket from one of the paramedics to place over her shoulders. In the same second, he gives the paramedic a quick pat on the arm to show his thanks while the woman begins to finally speak in halting sentences.

“Detective?”

Sezin’s attention rears back to the human officer. The tablet in his hand rights itself back as he glances down at his notes. “Ah, sorry. Could you repeat the last part again?”

Officer Shan throws him a sympathetic look. “Yeah,” he says, and goes on the repeat the last bit of witness reports—and meanwhile Sezin can’t help but wonder if Shan would have plucked at his sleeve or tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention instead.

Eventually, Gavin approaches him, done with his interview. When Sezin turns around at the sound of his voice, Gavin’s right hand is raised slightly in an abortive gesture before he lowers it. It’s a familiar sight, and Sezin hasn’t missed the way Gavin tends to reach out without meaning to, especially when controlling a crowd or dealing with their more aggressive detainees. But here, in the relative quiet the aftermath of a crime scene, Gavin _still_ keeps to the habit.

On impulse, Sezin nudges his elbow against Gavin’s arm. “How did it go?”

At Sezin’s friendly prod, Gavin’s shoulders relax by a fraction. He doesn’t seem to notice it consciously, but he does shift closer to Sezin, his expression thoughtful. “Her story checks out. Just gotta review the rest of the reports.”

“Right. Back to the precinct?” Sezin asks. The image of Gavin’s eyes lighting up while giving him tea comes unbidden—like he’s found an important clue to a stubborn case. Sezin thinks he might know the feeling now.

Gavin grins, nudging Sezin back. “Back to the precinct.”

 

* * *

 

The next week, Gavin brings him another cup of tea. There’s no drink carrier this time; Gavin holds it out while reading from his tablet, and Sezin reacher over, fingers brushing as he grabs the cup and leans into Gavin’s space to read from the tablet as well.

And it’s nice in that slow and quiet way, that neither of them think on it for a long while after.


End file.
